this is bbc world news today. i'm ben bland. our top stories: a protest on the streets of barcelona turns into a stand—off with police. this is the scene there now. this after the former leader of the separatist cause is placed under arrest in germany. his lawyer says he'll fight the case all the way translation: the european arrest warrant is being misused for political purposes. it is being used to put political opponents behind bars. "astonished and ashamed" — the australian cricket team is engulfed in scandal after the captain admits to cheating and steps down. when i heard about it, i was outraged. i was just outraged. this is our national team. the australian cricket team for australians is iconic, and for them to behave in this way is just unbelievable. hundreds attend a memorial service for the victims of an islamist militant attack in southwest france. and tributes are pouring

in forjose abreu — whose music education programme, el sistema, brought classical music to the slums of caracas. hello and welcome to world news today. thousands of people are protesting on the streets of barcelona after former catalan leader, carles puigdemont, was arrested in germany. this was the scene in the centre of the city a little earlier. tensions were already running high after several other pro—independence politicians were arrested. mr puigdemont was detained on a european arrest warrant, which spanish prosecutors re—issued on friday. you may remember — mr puigdemont fled spain last october after holding a referendum on independence which the authorities said was illegal.

they accuse him of sedition and rebellion. his lawyer says he was detained this is the scene live his lawyer says he was detained by german highway police in the north german province of schleswig—holstein, as he crossed over the border by carfrom denmark. he was returning from a trip to finland where he was invited to speak at a university lecture. since last october, mr puigdemont has been living in self—imposed exile in belgium. these pictures were filmed in brussels injanuary, at a meeting with his political colleagues. he could face 25 years in prison if he is returned to spain and convicted. his lawyer gave this update. translation: of course, whether this is an offence in germany plays a role. i'm not familiar with the german penal code but there are a lot of other arguments for germany to reject that european arrest do you think it is by ahmadi what

they would have expected?” do you think it is by ahmadi what they would have expected? i think they would have expected? i think they probably expected it to a certain extent. if you go back a few months, we saw these kinds of protests on the streets of barcelona and other capital cities quite regularly. i think the concern perhaps the biggest concerns for the spanish government might be economic, they are seeing roads being blocked, this big city, this big tourist hub, industrial centre in the north east of spain, coming toa in the north east of spain, coming to a standstill. if that were to happen at the coming days, it would bea happen at the coming days, it would be a big concern to the spanish authorities. but politically they have probably expected something like this, but we get to see how expensive these demonstrations and protests are. expensive these demonstrations and protests a re. if expensive these demonstrations and protests are. if they get much bigger than this, but will certainly bea bigger than this, but will certainly

be a concern for the spanish government. what happens next? does this arrest helped spanish authorities and their aim of stopping the momentum of the catalan independence seekers, or does it just fuel them to fight for it even harder? it seems to polarise the situation further, and that is pretty sure. the pro—independence supporters are outraged. they see this as injustice, the spanish state, spanish government trying to exact revenge for their attempted separation from spain back in october last year, rather than a proper attempt to bring these people to justice. proper attempt to bring these people tojustice. on proper attempt to bring these people to justice. on the other hand, the spanish authorities and unionists see this as justice being done, spanish authorities and unionists see this asjustice being done, so it is polarising the situation

further. it seems to be giving ammunition to the independence movement, and so i think we could well see many more demonstrations like the one we are seeing at the moment in barcelona in the days and weeks to come. thank you. as you can see, this is the scene live in barcelona now. somewhat calmer than the themes we saw earlier, but this is just the themes we saw earlier, but this isjust one part the themes we saw earlier, but this is just one part of the city centre, but a police presence being maintained, after protests following the arrest of former catalan leader ca rles the arrest of former catalan leader carles puigdemont in germany. tributes have been paid to a french police officer during a church memorial service in trebes in the south of france. it's where four people were killed by a jihadist gunman on friday. the bishop of carcassonne, who presided over the mass, said that lieutenant colonel arnaud beltrame, who died saving hostages, had combined the devotion of a soldier with the faith of a christian. from paris, here's hugh schofield. palm sunday, the start

of holy week for catholics. in the medieval church of st etienne in trebes, mass today is laden with significance. they have come to remember the four people who were killed in the terrorist attack on friday, and in particular the sacrifice of one man, lieutenant colonel arnaud beltrame, who lay down his life so that others might be saved. translation: in the midst of the terrible events of friday, one man traded himself for a victim and paid with his life. arnaud beltrame was himself a practising catholic. according to the bishop, he combined the devotion of a soldier with the faith of a christian preparing for holy week. contemplating the hugeness of his act of self—sacrifice, the french simply feel awe. at the gendarmerie where he was based in carcassonne and at others around the country, they have been leaving their tributes.

translation: i think sacrificing one's life to save a hostage is higher than anything. it is heroic. that poor boy, it's so sad. it's terrible, what happened. translation: yes, it's the very definition of a hero. i think it's simple. it is expressed here by his act. it's sad, but he's a hero. what arnaud beltrame did at the supermarket, giving himself up to the gunman in return for hostages, was a decision taken in a split—second. for the general who commands france's gendarmerie, it's an act of the man. translation: it was an act of heroism, an exceptional act taken in the heat of action. he performed his duty to the limit. we are all proud of that. we are proud of having had him in our ranks. his example must inspire us in the future in the daily work we do protecting our fellow citizens. at the worst and most

frightening moments on friday, a man carried out a deed of selfless honour. for many in france and not just churchgoers, that is a source of hope. syrian fighters and their families are continuing to be evacuated from territory they had held in the region of eastern ghouta. the departure of the evacuees follows a deal between the local rebel leadership and president assad's government. eastern ghouta has been subjected to one of the heaviest bombardments of the syrian war and only small pockets remain in the hands of rebels. with more, here's david campanale. buses carrying fighters, their families and others, left eastern ghouta late on saturday as the government tightened its grip on the enclave outside damascus. the coaches headed to the north—western province of idlib, which is still controlled by the opposition. in recent weeks, the syrian military

has cut the territory into three separate pockets, forcing the opposition to negotiate withdrawals. thousands more people began the process of evacuation on sunday morning following a deal struck between government forces and a local rebel group, faylaq al—rahman. the surrender of zamalka, arbin and ain terma leaves the city of douma as the last rebel—held stronghold. it is held by jaysh al—islam, and talks are under way to evacuate their fighters. damascus city lies immediately adjacent to the newly cleared rebel territory. here, residents have been rejoicing as they expect no longer be hit by opposition mortars. over 70% of eastern ghouta is now under control of government forces who have moved in. restoring rule here would be a major gain for president bashar al—assad, and represent a success for his strategy of battering towns to breaking point.

as well as flattening whole districts, over 1,500 people have been killed by syrian government forces, supported by the russian military and backed by iran, in an offensive which was launched on the rebel—held territory last month. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... we'll have all the sport including the latest on the ball tampering row engulfing australian cricket. it is with great regret that i have decided that south africa be excluded from the competition. streaking across the sky, the white

hot wreckage drew bustards from onlookers on fiji. —— drew gasps. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines. thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of barcelona, following the arrest of the former catalan leader carles puigdemont. the authorities in russia have updated the death toll after a fire ata updated the death toll after a fire at a shopping mall. they now say that 37 people are known to have died. it broke out in a shopping mall ina died. it broke out in a shopping mall in a russian city earlier on sunday. kemerovo is a coal—mining centre in siberia, 3500 plumbers is

east of desktop has risen sharply. earlier there were reports of at least four people dying. —— 3500 kilometres east of moscow. some of the victims are known to be children. the fire began on the fourth floor of the winter cherry building in the city, according to a russian news site. there was smoke billowing from the windows and fire ci’ews we re billowing from the windows and fire crews were trying to evacuate the property as quickly as possible. some people were reportedly seen jumping from windows to try and escape. that death toll has been updated by russian authorities, saying that 37 are now known to have died in that fire in the shopping mall. an investigation will be taking place to see what was the cause of that fire. that line just coming into us, updating the death toll. there's been an outraged reaction in australia to the news that a group of senior players for the national cricket team

were effectively conspiring to cheat during the current test match against south africa. captain steve smith and vice—captain david warner have been stripped of their positions, after smith admitted being aware of a plan to ask a junior player to tamper with the match ball — something which is outlawed under the laws of cricket. it seemed completely beyond belief that the australian cricket team had been involved in cheating. after all, our cricketers are role models, and cricket is synonymous with fair play. how can our team be engaged in cheating like this? the match in question finished with australia suffering a heavy defeat to south africa. a little earlier i spoke to the australian high commissioner in london.

i think it is bad for the national psyche. i think australians are outraged about this national team, which they hold in such high esteem, behaving in such way. it's often said to wear the baggy cap, the cab which the australian test cricketers would wear as one of the greatest honours any australian could have bestowed on him, and for people wearing the baggy green to behave like that is astonishing. what it's done is it separated the australian cricket team from the australian public, and the team has lost the affection and support of the public at this time. do you think the punishment was correct? would you have done the same? the icc has done what it's done, and now cricket australia, the australian cricket authority, will obviously look at this further in the days ahead. it's not for me to judge what the right punishment is, but punishment is

certainly justified, punishment is, but punishment is certainlyjustified, and punishment is, but punishment is certainly justified, and that's taking place. the tragedy is that steve smith is one of the best, the five best batsman in the world, and david warner was the vice captain, a p pa re ntly david warner was the vice captain, apparently involved in this as well. he is one of the classiest batsmen in the world as well. both of them caught up in it. it can bounce the tragedy. a correspondent from an australian newspaper said to us earlier that this strikes hard at the heart of every australian. bearing in mind we are broadcasting to people of all ages, including children, what went through your mind when you heard what had happened? i know that in the media hyperbole comes naturally to people, but i have to say, when i heard about it, i was just outraged. this is our national team, the australian cricket team. for australians, is our national team, the australian cricket team. foraustralians, it is our national team, the australian cricket team. for australians, it is iconic but for them to behave in

this way, it's just unbelievable. and, as the prime minister was saying, it is true that cricket is one of those games where you assume there is fair play. it's a complicated game, and you expect people to play by the rules, not blata ntly people to play by the rules, not blatantly cheated in this sort of wine. it's disrespectful to the australian public for the team to have behaved like this. australian public for the team to have behaved like thislj australian public for the team to have behaved like this. i have to point out, it's bad enough to cheat and be caught cheating, but to do that and still go on and lose must be even more galling. that and still go on and lose must be even more gallinglj that and still go on and lose must be even more galling. i don't know about that. i think australians will be so outraged... australians had a great sense of fair play. of course, they want australia to win, and australia often does win, but in this particular case it would have been a bit brutal if they'd then gone on and won the game, having been cheating. i don't think that would have gone down well with the australian public, so i think they got theirjust deserts. more on that

ball tampering scandal and the rest of the sport. tulsen tollett has all the sport. australia's captain, steve smith, was banned for a match and find his entire match fee by the icc for his pa rt entire match fee by the icc for his part in the ball tampering scandal in cape town. smith scored just seven runs as australia crumbled to 107 all out to go 2—1 down in the series against south africa. quinton de kock made 65. australia were chasing over 404 victory. cameron bancroft, also implicated in the scandal, but australia a good start. the last nine wickets fell for 50 runs. a particularly sweet victory for the south africans, go to johannesburg for the last test, buoyed by the result, and their captain have some empathy with smith. he is trying to take responsibility, so there is right in

that. but there is also right that people are responsible for their own actions, so i don't know what the right answer is. i can understand it's a top time for him to be in right now. —— a tough time. the situation i was in was really difficult for me as well, because people were attacking me and my personality and my character, and i felt it was wrong. it wasn't fair. i don't know how he feels about his own personal situation, but i imagine he is going through a really tough time. extremely difficult. that's certainly no excuse for what we saw in the last 45 minutes. we are still the australian cricket team, and we expect to put up a better effort than we did today. but certainly in somewhat trying circumstances, and we brought them on ourselves. growing discontent in

the public and sections of the media in both australia and abroad. let's have a look. the daily telegraph in syd ney have a look. the daily telegraph in sydney simply says, shame. the australian goes with a similar thing of smith, shame. the times in the uk highlight the word cheats. england will resume their second innings in the coming hours on 132—3 on the final day of the opening test in auckland, 237 runs behind new zealand. joe root was dismissed on the final day final ball of dave four. england hoping perhaps that the elements come to their rescue, after they were bowled out for 58 in their first after they were bowled out for 58 in theirfirst innings, which has them in this position. sebastian vettel claimed the open grand prix of the formula 1 season in australia as lewis hamilton was outmanoeuvred by

a safety car pit stop, finishing second. hamilton started ahead of kimi raikkonen and sebastian vettel and got away fast enough. but on the 25th lap, after a miscalculation by mercedes under a safety car, sebastian vettel made a pit stop and took the lead, then held on confidently claim 48th formula 1 with hamilton and raikkonen completing the podium. defending champion johanna konta will completing the podium. defending championjohanna konta will play three—time winner venus williams in the last 16 of the miami open. a 6-2, 6-1 the last 16 of the miami open. a 6—2, 6—1winner the last 16 of the miami open. a 6—2, 6—1 winner over her opponent, taking just over an hour. she will ta ke taking just over an hour. she will take on the eighth seed for a place in the quarterfinals, after venus w011 in the quarterfinals, after venus won it in three sets, saving three match points against kiki bertens. bubba watson and kevin kisner currently playing the final of the wdc matchplay event in austin. bubba

watson five up through five polls. —— holes. he was affectionately known as "maestro abreu." venezuela's music visionary jose abreu has died at age 78. fighting poverty through music, the idea behind this revolutionary music project, bringing beethoven and mozart to the poorest areas of venezuela, to make a young generation appreciate them and escape a life of poverty and generation appreciate them and escape a life of poverty a the was heavily

backgrounds. it was heavily promoted by the socialist government of backgrounds. it was heavily promoted by the‘ venezuelan ernment of backgrounds. it was heavily promoted by the‘ venezuelan leader|t of chavez, becoming one of the best funded social besi but fled social besi but fled maestro told the programmes. but the maestro told the bbc in 2009 that he was less interested in politics than in helping young people. interested in politics than in helping young peoplelj interested in politics than in helping young people. i think it's important, because you will spread the ideas, which constitute the fundament of it. solidarity, social action with music, and understanding between peoples. tributes have been paid, including venezuelan president nicholas maduro. translation: we are deeply moved by the passing away ofjose abreu. he leaves behind a quick legacy. to the

simon bolivar orchestra, i pass on my condolences. his students included the musical director of the simon bolivar orchestra, a renowned venezuelan conductor. he expressed his sadness to his beloved maestro. he was an economist, politician and activist. but it was in educator through music that the maestro hold thousands of venezuelan children from crime and poverty. his legacy lives on. thank you for watching. see you $0011. i think they'll there has to be an exception, and it

was to be found close to the south—eastern quarter of the british isles, with a veil of cloud, the residue of saturday, hanging around. it's gone as we get into the wee small hours. underneath, these pretty clear skies, save for the north of scotland. there will be quite a widespread frost, not particularly hard, butjust a reminder that we are still fairly early in the season, so don't be surprised even in the towns and cities if we get close to, if not a tad below freezing, and i think there will be a difference across some southern counties. the first pa rt some southern counties. the first part of the week is marked by some mild air close to the british isles but, once that is away, there is mild air in the south, relative to somewhat colder conditions in the northern half of scotland. monday sta rts northern half of scotland. monday starts bright enough, fairly crisp in one or two spots. you keep your

sunshine across northern and eastern parts for the greater part of the day. out west, things change and, come tea—time, rain pushing into the west of northern ireland, in yorkshire and west of the taymor. nothing wrong with those temperatures. that area of rain is all associated with weather fronts, draped around that area of low pressure, with quite a number of isobars, so tuesday rather wet and breezy for some, but the rain eventually becomes confined to northern and eastern parts, and still quite mild across the south. further north, a shot of cold air coming in from the north sea. as a consequence, much cooler conditions to be found towards the north, where we see the snowfall totals mounting up. further south, as we get on into wednesday, the front clears away, writer skies following an behind, but a bright and blustery sort of day on wednesday, with a number of

showers and maybe a bit of hail in the heaviest. a mixed bag to start the heaviest. a mixed bag to start the new week, turning a wee bit colder after double—figure temperatures, some rain at times and they risk of snow, especially on high hello, this is bbc news. these are the headlines. reports from russia say at least 37 people have died at a fire say at least 37 people have died at afire in say at least 37 people have died at a fire in a shopping more inside area. another 20 people are reported missing. the cause of the fire is not yet known. demonstrators have clashed with police on the streets of barcelona after independence supporters turned out to protest against the detention of the former cata la n against the detention of the former catalan leader carles puigdemont, who is under arrest in germany. they memorial mass has taken place in southern france in tribute to fall victims killed by an islamist gunmen on friday. the police officer who died saving the lives of hostages in a supermarket siege was also honoured. the captain of the

australian cricket team steve